Chapter 24 The Wise and Enlightened Lord

  The county magistrate took a deep breath, Huang Shifu's actions today were very unusual, but the more unusual they were, the more he needed to ask clearly. Moreover, this case made him dizzy and neither side was easy to deal with, so he also urgently needed to carefully consider it.

  He remained expressionless, smiled slightly and said: "You wait a little later, I'll be right back."

  Having said that, he got up and was about to leave for the back hall, but County Magistrate Su seemed still not at ease and didn't forget to instruct: "In the court, absolutely do not stir up trouble." He was afraid of Zhang Taigong and Xu Qian, these two old and young masters were both hot-headed, enemies meeting face-to-face would be especially fierce, just now in the hall his father and mother had still been scolding each other without stopping, who knows what would happen once he left.

  Arriving at the rear hall, County Magistrate Su sighed heavily. Huang Shiye had already arrived, and County Magistrate Su said: "The current situation is also seen by Mr. Huang. On one side are the local gentry of this county, whom I will have to rely on in the future. On the other side are the descendants of loyal and good people, with tongues as sharp as knives, who occupy the moral high ground. Yet these two parties do not want me to mediate, but instead insist on competing with each other to see who can outdo the other. What is to be done?"

  Huang Shiyeh also smiled bitterly. If he were Su County Magistrate, he would probably be in a difficult situation too. However, since he had invited Su County Magistrate to the back hall's flower pavilion for discussion, he already had a plan in mind. After thinking it over, he slowly said: "East Master, I just thought of something."

  "Oh?" said Magistrate Su, "Speak freely."

  Huang Shiyeye smiled bitterly and said: "A few days ago, Xu Shi's father and son set up a banquet and invited students to have a drink. At the dinner table, they also mentioned doing good deeds."

  The county magistrate frowned: "Why didn't you say it earlier?"

  Huang Shiyeh said: "At that time, the students didn't take it to heart either. After all, the Xu family was just a small household, and adults were noble people, how could they care about these trivial matters."

  Huang Shiye said, "At that time, they only talked about doing good deeds and didn't mention setting up a charity house, let alone setting one up right across from the Wang family. The students just thought he wanted to do good deeds, so in their hearts, they were thinking that these people were just ordinary folks who still had kind thoughts, so they praised them even more at the time. They drank some wine and even gave them a few words of encouragement."

  The county magistrate's face suddenly didn't look good. Originally, Huang Shifu's calligraphy wasn't a big deal, but at this critical moment, it was quite thought-provoking.

  Huang Shiyeye glanced at Su Xianling's expression and continued: "Moreover, the other day, I pondered that since your arrival, the education has already shown initial results. So, I specially wrote a memorial to the provincial government office, which mentioned Xu Jia's father and son, saying that they were of humble origin, but under your education, they accumulated virtues and did good deeds, with no greater goodness..."

  The county magistrate was stunned.

  This is a total rip-off.

  If re-combed, it would be Xu's father and son who framed Huang Shiyé, while Huang Shiyé was unaware of the situation and also framed his superior, Su County Magistrate.

  It's not a big deal, really. The county magistrate wants to achieve political success, so he must constantly dig deep and make a fuss about it. Just like Xu Jia's family suddenly doing good deeds, Huang Shiy would think this is great material for the county magistrate to gain fame. After some artistic embellishment, it was reported that Xu Jia was being praised for his good deeds, but in reality, it was actually praising County Magistrate Su for his effective governance. Think about it, even a lowly-born person like him can do good and accumulate virtue after the county magistrate took office - it's almost as if a prostitute had reformed and remained chaste from then on, both are things worth writing about in big characters.

  Now the problem is, this thing was reported to the higher-ups, no matter how they looked at it, there was one point that had to be certain, today you made Xu's father and son a typical example, but tomorrow you ordered his charity house to close down, isn't this slapping your own face?

  The county magistrate took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, but after all, his internal energy was not enough, and he couldn't help pounding his chest and stomping his feet, shouting loudly: "Mr. Huang has wronged me!" He had just stormed off with a flick of his sleeve.

  Huang Shiyeh was left alone in the flower hall, crying and laughing at the same time. At this moment, he also wanted to punch his chest and kick his feet, shouting: "That little brat with the surname Xu has wronged me."

  The county magistrate hastily returned to the main hall and saw Xu Qian and Zhang Taigong staring at each other, with sparks flying in their eyes. They must have had another clash just now.

  He took a deep breath, and the county magistrate's face turned iron-green. He slapped the wooden table and shouted: "This court has already made a public verdict. Xu's father and son are loyal and kind, they have done good deeds and accumulated virtues, and set up a charity house, this is a good deed. The Tao is not clear, it is because of the lack of education. Therefore, our dynasty values Confucianism, and uses benevolence, filial piety, virtue, propriety, and education to educate the world. What is benevolence? Goodness is benevolence! Xu's father and son, with a small family, have done this good deed, it is a great goodness. This court will choose a day to reward them."

  This was a big blow to Zhang Taigong, and he couldn't help but feel a little shocked in his heart. Su County's words already had a definitive meaning, and since it was already settled, wouldn't that mean that not only did Su County not oppose the Xu family setting up the Yi Zhuang opposite the Zhang family, but also seemed to have a tone of praise?

  "Sir, what do you mean by this? Are you going to show favoritism towards the Xu family father and son?"

  The county magistrate didn't even look at Zhang Tai Gong and said coldly: "Zhang's words are serious, this county is just handling official business."

  Zhang Taigong was stunned, what's wrong with this Su County Magistrate? Has he gone mad? Doesn't he know the capabilities of the Zhang family in Qiantang? If he offends the Zhangs, will it be easy for him to achieve political success in Qiantang from now on?

  To offend the Zhang family for the sake of the Xu family, Zhang Taigong's mind was also momentarily unable to turn around, but he was still furious and got up, brushing his sleeves and saying: "What a great way to handle official business!" After speaking, he didn't even bother with basic courtesy, and strode away with a flourish.

  Although the county magistrate of Su did not show any expression, he was secretly worried. He had never thought that he would offend the Zhang family. Now that the repair of the county school has been going on for half a day, if the Zhang family is unwilling to cooperate, other gentry will only continue to watch and wait. The county magistrate of Su had hoped to rely on the repair of the county school to achieve political achievements, but now he was also helpless. The Xu family's charity house had become one of his people's livelihood projects, and his own face could not be lost. As for the matter of repairing the county school, it had not yet reached a critical point, so for now, he could only focus on the present.

  "Great wisdom of the gods..." Xu Qian took advantage of the opportunity and gave a flattering smile.

  Who would have thought that the county magistrate of Su is now in a bad mood, although he can't help but favor the Xu family, his face looks very unpleasant. He has come to his senses and realized that the young master of the Xu family not only dug a hole for the Zhang family to jump into but also fell into it himself. At this time, he naturally wouldn't give Xu Qian a good face, but since he is the descendant of a loyal and honest official, the county magistrate of Su had to praise the Xu family's good deed again. It wasn't suitable to get angry at this time, so he could only patiently say: "You have a heart for doing good deeds, which is a good thing. As the descendant of a loyal and honest official, you must do well from start to finish. This county will just handle things impartially, and it's not worth mentioning being wise and brilliant. You may leave now."

  The county magistrate hastily walked away without even bothering to knock on the wooden tablet of the Surprise Hall.

  Only the Xu family father and son were left, Xu Qian felt that the old man was staring at him fiercely, as if he was looking at a mountain of gold. Xu Qian's heart couldn't help but feel a little empty, and he hastily said: "Dad, your gaze... is too strange."

  Xu Chang originally wanted to say something, but then discovered that there were many people around and it was noisy, so he swallowed his words and dryly said: "Let's go, let's talk outside first."

  Two men came out of the hall, and Hu Weihu, who had previously bullied Xu's father and son, was stunned. He had thought that with Zhang's family's ability to deal with Xu's father and son would be as easy as pinching an ant to death. Who knew that Xu Changsheng had a good son, not only was his tongue sharp, but he also seemed to have some connection with the county magistrate of Su, so much so that the county magistrate didn't even look at Zhang's family's face. This Xu Chang... really has good luck, Hu Weihu thought nervously in his heart, thinking about how many times he had clashed with them earlier, and feeling even more uneasy. As soon as he saw Xu's father and son come out, he hurriedly went up to greet them, smiling and saying: "Xu old brother is fine, now the county magistrate has greatly praised you, congratulations are in order, why don't I host a dinner tonight..."

  Xu Chang coldly looked at Hu Wei and interrupted him: "There's no need for this, I have something else to attend to. Qian Er, let's go."

  Xu Qian saw that Hu Wei was full of flattery, and he had something on his mind. He nodded and followed Xu Chang out of the government office.